Now that Jake had officially accepted the mission, the others had no reason to hesitate. Ruby was his slave, while Carmin and her sister Lily weren't really in a position to refuse either. Seren seemed delighted, but Wyatt was pulling a long face.
"I'm coming with you." The Vampire declared with a firm tone.
"Do we really have to come?" Elduin raised his hand, his face practically having the word desperation and unwillingness scrawled on it. "We're not even real Mutants!
"Noooo! Why?!" Seren also mortified with a deeply disgruntled expression. If Wyatt was going, she knew she would have to come too.
The blond boy gave her a chilling glare of warning, which made her involuntarily shudder, but she didn't challenge his decision after that. Aisling was amused by the volunteer initiative of this Guilty, but in the end he was part of another faction.
"Even if you want to come, you can't come with us." The Mutant leader dissuaded him in a falsely apologetic tone. "The Vampires have done everything they can to steer clear of this rescue mission, and it would look very bad to the other clans if they were to learn that one of their new Vampires was hanging out with Laudarkvik's elite Mutants of his own free will."
Wyatt's face sank hearing this unpleasant truth. Seized by a surge of pity, one of the Mutants surrounding them hinted aloud,
"If you were to accept the Mission as an Adventurer, the Vampires would have no grounds to hold it against you. The only catch is that you'll be leaving town many hours after us. Tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"As for the elf, the kid, the dwarf and the fairy, your fate was sealed from the moment you joined our faction along with these Guilties." Aisling chortled, "Besides, the Human Faction is also forced to participate so you would have been conscripted anyway willingly or unwillingly. The kid can perhaps be excused, though he would surely have lost a liter or two of blood by the time you got back. The Minmin can also get away with it, but I wouldn't advise her to stay in Laudarkvik without protection hehe. Even I'm tempted to take a bite out of her."
As she spoke her last words, the female warrior licked her lips with a glimmer of desire in her eyes, succinctly revealing her long white canines. Jeanie shivered and immediately yelled out,
"Jeanie stay with Jake!"
Aisling stared at them in turn before nodding approvingly.
"Now that it's decided, get your things ready, we're leaving in ten minutes. You will receive your orders from Norton for the duration of the mission." She informed them as she pointed to one of the Mutants blocking the main door of the inn.
The Mutant in question, a grizzled, scarred man, stepped forward with a strict, stern expression on his face. His inch-long beard was connected to his sideburns, giving the impression that he had grown a mane. His jaw was highly developed and slightly protruded, and his musculature was streamlined and veined to an extreme level.
"Looking forward to working with you." Norton grunted amiably, his face as lifeless and cold as a stone wall.
The matter being settled, Aisling did not even bid them goodbye. She left the inn in a flash with 25 of the 26 Mutants accompanying her, leaving Norton and the new conscripts in his care behind. As they left, the two female Mutants who were trailing behind gave them a sympathetic look before disappearing, giggling into their sleeves.
As soon as Jake was sure that the Mutant leader couldn't hear them, their superior Norton took the lead and radically changed his demeanor. Clenching his fist nonchalantly, a resounding snap of his knuckles shattered the windows of the inn.
"Let me give you a warning." A fanatical glare of stifling hostility shone furiously in his gray eyes. "Aisling has a good heart, that's why we all love her. If any of you intend to disobey, whether by deserting or plotting against her, know that I'm watching you. Unlike our beloved leader, I'm not a good guy... Am I clear?"
"Crystal clear, sir!" Trash shouted as he stood at attention.
'How embarrassing...' Jake took two steps away so as not to be contaminated by his stupidity.
Norton glanced at the teenager in bewilderment, unable to believe that they were really going to send such a dumb kid to the front lines. The mission hadn't even started, and he'd already counted one casualty. Again, it was written all over his face. Jake and the others had already realized that this gruff Mutant was unusually expressive.
"Let me explain the plan..." Their superior began to explain the overall operation before giving them more specific instructions.
With no time to test their abilities, Norton could only rely on their level and stats. The Mutant Faction had access to their identity check reports and he knew everything there was to know about them. Like everyone who read their stats for the first time, he was deeply shocked, but he quickly regained his composure and adapted his strategy according to their abilities.
Ten minutes later, the grizzled Mutant stopped giving instructions, his tongue slightly dry from talking so long without interruption. Jake and the others were not as wary as they had been at first. At least when it came to military strategy, this Norton knew his stuff.
For starters, they wouldn't be split up. With Norton as captain, their group would form the Mutant Vanguard's fourth squad. The other three would be led by Aisling and two other Vice Leaders.
Norton would be at the front, occupying the forefront of their formation and playing the role of the Tank to some extent with Bhammod and Elduin protecting the flanks of the formation and Jake closing the gap. Carmin and Lily would be positioned just behind Norton, with Trash and Jeanie at the heart of the formation. Finally, Ruby would stay at the back with Jake, for obvious reasons...
Bhammod was more of a melee damage dealer, but he could also play the role of a secondary tank if needed. Elduin was an excellent archer and assassin, but his agility also gave him excellent hand-to-hand survivability. His role in the group would be primarily as a scout.
Minmin was a Magic Appraiser and could use a multitude of low-level spells, as well as identify almost anything, even the most obscure spells. Carmin with her Blood Energy Whip and Blood Thaumaturgy was versatile at mid range, but could excel in any position, allowing her to easily reinforce weak spots in the formation when needed. Her sister had similar abilities, but her forte was more about hypnosis and spirit taming.
As for Jake and Ruby... Norton was biased because of his Rune Engraver Soul Class, but his stats were so absurd that he gave up on placing him at the center of the formation. As for Ruby, she was a Fallen Angel and Jake had made it clear that he wouldn't go anywhere without her. These two were the troublemakers of Lodunvals, and placing them in the back seemed more sensible.
What a surprise it was for Jake and the others when they learned that their new captain, Norton, was also one of the Mutant Vice Leaders. No one knew where he came from, but rumour had it that he trained Aisling in the past before she became famous for uniting the Mutants.
Jake tried to scan him, this time focusing the full spiritual power of the bracelet on him, but the only thing the Oracle Scan revealed was his level.
[Spirit Body: lvl 78]
Even stronger than Laudar! As a reminder, the Baron of Lodunvals was only level 71.
Jake was seized by a burning sense of urgency as he read the scan report. He had been on Quanoth for less than half a day and he had already encountered a bunch of natives with minds so powerful that the Oracle Scan's spiritual impulse couldn't even break through their mental barriers.
Norton sneered as he felt several spirit waves probing his body. For a Mutant of his level, it was like a burglar trying to break into his house in broad daylight while he was at home, right behind the door. An elephant strolling through a schoolyard would hardly have been more discreet.
The mind of a Rank-S Mutant was inviolable. It was common knowledge and only these Guilties could insist on it without any fear of being caught red-handed. Because he respected Aisling, he could tolerate this kind of breach of etiquette, but these old fogies on the Council would not be so accommodating...
If they were going to make them their ally, they should at least teach them some manners. His pupils suddenly shimmered a hypnotic silver light and his spiritual aura flared up.
Bzzz! pop!
All of their Oracle Devices, except for Jake's which was much heavier in liquid alloy, went into overdrive and were momentarily disabled. For Ruby, it was the second time in a day, but for the others it was a first.
Only Jake showed a look of incomprehension at their reactions of astonishment, but by consulting the status of his slave he understood why.
'No wonder her Oracle Shield suddenly deactivated against Laudar when she still had some Aether left.'
Better late than never. He had never believed for a second that his Oracle Device was infallible. In fact, it reassured him. It gave him hope that one day he would be able to get rid of it.
"First common sense lesson for you Guilties." Norton let out a demonic smile filled with delight at his own performance. "You don't use your mental sense against another adventurer unless you're able to do so without being detected."
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